The season of spider webs and cicadas

I took a short trip recently, and upon my return, I found that Fall had arrived at my house.  This coincided nicely with the first day of October.  Fall is my favorite season, but I do not appreciate the shortening days.

The Beagle has marked the end of his own private cicada hunting season.  They're no longer around like they were a few weeks ago.  For some reason (maybe it's the satisfying crunch), Maximilian took special joy in searching for and consuming as many cicadas as possibly this late summer.  Sometimes he would get upwards of four or five a day by my count (and that doesn't even include the ones he nabs sneakily enough for me not to notice).

He pursued them like a cat would a mouse.  I have not known dogs to be avid eaters of insects.  But Maximilian clearly lacks some chiton in his regular diet and needed to make up for that by foraging on his own time.

As we walked through the fields near where I live, the cicadas would buzz in alarm and take flight to get away from us.  The Beagle snagged a few in mid-air.  Our walks through the tall grass were fraught with the pummeling of fairly large invertebrates against my skin and clothes.  You get used to it after a while.

But now, those same walks are characterized by peaceful butterflies floating around some of the last flowers of the season.  They're much more calming than the pelting of their heavier cousins.  On today's walk, in fact, I had the sensation of shepherding a flock of butterflies (I think what was really happening is that they were fleeing from my advance at a pace that seemed leisurely but was really their third or fourth gear).

To me, there is a close association between cicada season and spider web season.  This year the majority of my experience with spider webs was with running on my usual trail.  I do not blame the spiders for choosing the trail as the place at which to build their webs.  It is convenient - in width and general bugginess - and beautiful.  Who wouldn't want to make a home there (however temporary).  But I cannot exactly say that I enjoy getting face after sweaty faceful of spider web as I run along the trail. 

I often considered carrying a stick in front of my face with which to combat the spider webs, but echoes of my grandfather screeching at us for running with anything remotely sharp prevented it.  In the end, I just dealt with the spider webs as necessary.  

But now that neither the spiders or cicadas are here to deal with in large numbers,  I can make my walks and runs without fear of 1) rather large, flying insects zooming about willy nilly and 2) ropes of proteinaceous spider silk smashing into my face and arms.  A definite sign of fall.  

And now it is time for me to go tend to the homemade pizza in the oven (which gave me this time to sit down and write something new).  Depending on how it turns out, the pizza may make the blog in the near future.